The Canton advocate. [volume] (Canton, D.T. [S.D.]) 1877-1897, 1887-11-10

l
ate straits into which the demo-
cratic party Of the country has been
forced, We refer, of course. to the
fact that although this is what IS
known as an off year, and that there
was no more important office at stake
than that of secretary of state, that
| party was forced to bring into the state
a majority of its best work ers and
| most prominent men. The offices at
stake, it is true, were not of such vital
Importance, but the influence this elec-
ton will have on next years campaign
| was rightly considered of vast impor-
! tance. To lose New York, the hither-
to pivotal state, under democratic
administration, even in this the "otf
year." would seem to almost forecast
the defeat of that party next fall
when greater things will be pending.
Realizing the Importance of the con-
test the democrats hurled their best
forces into the fight, and for the first
time in the history of the country the
president of the United States consid-
cred it necessary to descend from his
high position and dabble in local pol
;tics. And this he did. Cleveland,
Lamont, and other bright and shining
lights of democracy threw themselves
into the breach and worked rs only
men similarly situated could work to
bolster up their tottering cause. The
result is graphically told in onr tele-
graph columns.
Accepting the campaign just closed
as a criterion the outlook for the sue
cess OF the republican cause next year,
when a president is to be elected, seems
cheering in the extreme. Many ele-
ments entered into the fight just clos
ed that are not at all likely to figure in
the next campaign. 1t beingan off year
the labor party, so called, did not feel
itself bound to fight under it's own
standard, and its members, as a rule,
locked back to the old standard of de-
mOcracy, beneath which. in former
years. they had fought so many battles
and suffered SO many defeats. Next
year this element will re-muster under
the standard of Henry George, and de-
mocracy will be left to paddle its own
canoe unassisted by single Georgite.
Then, too, Cleveland and his aids
will have their time too much occu-
pied in attending to The general elec-
tion to give especial attention to any
one state, and shorne of these auxila-
ries New York democracy. weakened
by desertions and weighted with the
load Of il,iquity that has been accumu-
latipg ever since it has been in power
will be hurled from the places of trust
it has so long disgraced, and the En-
plre state will wheel into line with the
other grand republican states.
We repeat, the election in New
York is anything but disconraging to
republicans, inasmuch as it has more
clearly than ever revealed the weak
ness of democracy. Even one short
month ago no one even dreamed that
in the election just passed the democ-
racy would be compelled to call into
the fight all its reserve forces, and vet
this is just what it has been compelled
to do. Notwithstanding the fact that
it was in power, both in the state and
nation, it found itself compelled to
act on the defensive, and that defense
has resulted in the complete exposure
OF its every weak point, a fact that
will be made good use of by the repub
lican party L., the next campaign.